Home
by Penelope the Perky Penguin
Summary: Lorne is badly injured on a routine offworld mission. When he's mysteriously healed by a random stranger, many questions and no answers come up. Can they figure out what happened to him before he goes completely nuts? Lorne whump!
1. Going Home?

AN: This came into my head while trying to write another Lorne story.

I'm sorry to all the people waiting for me to update 'Ancient One' or 'Uh Oh'. I am discontinuing 'Uh Oh' and will be going back and fixing some problems that have crept up in 'Ancient One'. May be a while before 'Ancient One' has anything new.

Disclaimer: If I owned this, Ronon and Amelia would be together and Lorne would have a girl. So obviously, I don't own anything.

"Oooooooooo shit." He muttered.

He wasn't sure exactly what had happened. One second he was walking along a mesa with his team, the next he was falling.

He had landed on something soft. Soft enough he hadn't been killed but still hard enough to break a couple things…

Like his leg and a couple ribs. He was pretty sure he's hit his head somewhere too.

After hitting the 'soft' spot, he remembered rolling a little before falling again.

The fall was shorter this time, but he hit something hard and then, nothing.

He'd woken with a groan, trying to figure out where he was.

All he could see was a rock. He felt wedged in between a rock and a hard place, aka, another rock.

His head was laid on his right arm, which was out-stretched above his head.

He could feel his legs, that was good, but he felt an odd sensation in his left one.

Surprisingly, he wasn't in much pain. He knew his leg was broken, probably his arm too, and more than likely a few ribs.

But the concussion he was positive he had kept the pain away.

That was probably the only thing he had to be grateful for.

He could hear shouting in the distance, but couldn't seem to find the strength to respond.

Drawing in a breath hurt. He knew he was in trouble when he began coughing and couldn't stop.

The rock in front of him became spotted with red, showing him just how screwed he was.

He closed his eyes, trying to figure a way out of this mess.

When he opened them again, he was pleasantly surprised to see a shadow looming over him.

He became worried when he realized he didn't recognize the figure. This planet was supposed to be un-inhabited.

"He-hel-help." He gasp.

The figure made a shushing sound and motioned to someone out of his view.

The next thing he knew, he was being lifted.

Someone had reached down between the rocks to pick him up and carry him in their arms.

Another someone had come up to curl his arm in.

That, in combination with moving his legs, brought the pain in waves.

Unable to do anything except lay there, he groaned and ground his teeth together, riding out the pain.

His eyes closed of their own accord. Nothing he could do would keep him open.

He opened them to see a high ceiling and strange walls.

They looked Ancient but with an odd twist. He was sure he saw some Gould designs incorporated into the Ancient.

He turned his head to the right and was able to see a small man working at an Ancient console.

He felt a tickle in his throat and coughed, thankful it didn't hurt like it had before.

The little man looked up, "Ah, Evan, you're awake!" he exclaimed.

His accent was hard to place but sounded like a mix of Russian and English. A weird combination.

"Where am I? And how do you know my name?" He asked.

"Never mind that. Completely unimportant." Little Man told him. "What is important is what you remember."

"Not much." Evan admitted. "I was walking along with my team and then, I wasn't. I was falling. I hit something and broke my leg, then rolled and fell again and hit my head."

"Yes, well, your leg should be fine now. And your arm was also broken but it should also be fine. Your ribs were harder, as one had punctured your lung. It was a challenge, but I managed to heal them. You will probably have a headache for a while, but it'll pass."

"What do you mean? It's not that easy to fix broken bones. How long have I been here?" He asked, confused.

"Any questions about where you are or who I am will go unexplained. As for the broken bones, they _are_ that easy to fix."

He was about to ask why when the Little Man continued, "I did what I could while you were unconscious. Now that you are conscious, I shall try again to see if I can fix you better."

"What do yo-" He was cut off by a whirring sound and the sight of a green strip of light coming from the ceiling toward him.

It encircled him and he felt no pain at all. It was like being drugged up to the gills with morphine, and yet still having your senses.

And then it was gone. He sat up tentatively, checking himself to see if there was any pain. There was none.

He stood, facing the Little Man.

"Goodbye now!" Little Man exclaimed suddenly. "Good to meet you, Evan!"

Before he could respond, Evan was engulfed in a bright white light. When it passed, he found himself in front of the gate.

Turning, he found his pack and weapons beside the DHD. Checking his pack he found everything there, including his GDO and radio.

Picking up his stuff, he dialed Atlantis and sent through his code. Unsure of how long he'd been gone, he activated his radio. "Atlantis, this is Lorne. I'm not sure how long I've been gone, but I'd like to come back."

The relieved voice of his CO came back to him, "Shield's down, come on back."

Moving to the gate, he felt eyes on him. He turned to see Little Man, in a glow of white light, waving at him. The glow was like that of an Ascended Being.

Lorne had questions of his own, and he knew he'd be asked many he couldn't answer, but right now he was alive and going back to Atlantis.

With a smile and a wave to the man that had saved his life, he turned and stepped through the gate, glad to be going home.

AN: Well? PLEASE let me know what you think! Annonymous reviews are more than welcome, but if you put username, I can thank you personally!


	2. All Is Well

AN: OK, so I had planned for this to just be a oneshot, but because of an awesome review, I'm continuing it. I saw that over 20 people read chapter one, but one 1 took the time to review. Thanks ladygris!

I am not going to beg for reviews, I will however, ask nicely for them. Please review! It only takes a couple minutes!

Disclaimer: None of this is mine! Well, Little Man is, but that's beside the point.

Lorne was greeted on the other side of the gate by the military part of his team and Sheppard.

"Lorne! Are you alright?" Sheppard asked as he approached.

"I'm fine, Sir." He replied before turning to his teammates. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine, Major." Coughlin answered for the two of them.

"But then, we weren't the ones that fell off a cliff. Sir." Reed added sarcastically, the concern laced in only evident to the ones that knew him best. Like Coughlin and Lorne.

"Back on topic, what happened out there?" Sheppard asked.

Lorne sighed, "I think we better get McKay and Zelenka in here, they'll wanna hear this."

Sheppard heard the little note of urgency in his voice and immediately radioed for McKay and Zelenka to get their butts in the conference room.

"Major?" Reed asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Sir, are you sure you're alright? We saw the fall you took, no one couldn't come out of that unscathed."

"I wasn't, but I am now."

"You're going have to explain that." Sheppard said, having listened to the conversation.

"I will. After we get everyone together, I don't want to have to repeat this ten times. I hardly believe it myself. By the way, where's Woolsey?" Lorne responded as they started up the steps towards the conference room.

"He's on his way."

Within a few moments, everyone was seated around the circular table.

Woolsey was at the head, Sheppard beside him, then Lorne, Coughlin and Reed. Opposite them were Teyla, Ronon, McKay, Zelenka and Doctor Keller. She had heard about the fall Lorne had taken and couldn't believe he was alright.

"So, Major, why don't you tell us about your little adventure?" Sheppard prompted.

"Yes, Sir." Lorne replied before he launched into a detailed story of what he remembered.

Surprisingly, even McKay stayed silent till Lorne had finished. Keller was obviously itching to get Lorne into the infirmary and do a detailed scan, especially when he said he had been coughing up blood, but she restrained herself and let him finish.

Sheppard was the first to speak when Lorne finished. "After you fell, your team searched for you. When they couldn't find you, they radioed for a jumper. By the time we got there, there were no life signs on the planet. We couldn't even find your subcutaneous tracker. We had thought maybe you'd been taken off world, but there were no ships anywhere around."

Stunned, Lorne asked the question on everyone's mind, "Then where'd I go?"

"We don't know." McKay answered before asking his own questions. "You said it looked like a mix of Ancient and Gould designs?"

"Yeah. It was weird."

"And you say the little guy glowed like an ascended being?"

"Yeah."

Before McKay could ask anything else, a bright green light filled the room. When it passed, a small, balding man stood facing Lorne.

"Hello again, Evan."

AN: I know, I know! Short chapter, sorry! But anyway, please let me know what you think! This story is kind of on the back burner, so it might be a few days before I post a new chapter. I'm posting as I write them, even though I don't like doing that. But I promise that I WILL finish this story!

Anyway, reviews are water, flames are the sun. Without both, I'd be dead.


	3. Going Crazy

AN: Soooooooooooo, I had a little extra time on my hands and I decided to write another chapter! Enjoy!

Thanks to Depresnajk and Ladygris for reviewing!

Disclaimer: As always, it's not mine. I wish it were, but it's not.

"You!" Lorne shouted suddenly as he jumped to his feet.

Startled, Sheppard didn't know what to do. Lorne was staring at the middle of the room, but there was nothing there.

"Is that all you have to say? 'Hello again, Evan'?" Lorne shouted angrily. Sheppard still couldn't figure out what was going on. Was his 2IC going insane? Everyone else's face mirrored Sheppard's thoughts.

"Lorne." Sheppard said as he stood slowly and reached to lightly grip Lorne's arm only for it to be shrugged off.

"You heal me and when you appear suddenly you expect me to keep myself from asking questions?" Lorne shouted again into the room. Lorne placed one hand on the table, only to hop over it and stalk up to whoever it was he was talking to.

Following him, Sheppard tried to get to him again. "Lorne. There's no one there."

"Damn you! Damn you stupid ascended beings and your stupid rules!" Lorne's focus was on his one-sided conversation.

"Lorne!" Sheppard tried again with no success.

He stepped forward to try to get in front of Lorne, and was rewarded with a powerful push that shoved him back into the conference table.

Ronon stood, his large gun aimed at Lorne. Even he knew that it wasn't normal for Lorne to be anything but a perfect soldier and shoving his superior officer definitely _wasn't_ in the definition of 'perfect soldier'.

"Hold it, Ronon!" Sheppard shouted. He didn't know what was wrong with his 2IC, but he was going to get to the bottom of it even if it killed him. Which it probably would.

Moving back over to Lorne, Sheppard tried yet again to get his focus. "Lorne!" No change. "Major!" Again, nothing. "Evan!" This was rewarded with a brief glance.

Encouraged, Sheppard tried again. "Evan, listen to me. There's no one there."

"Damn it!" Lorne shouted. Sheppard noticed that he looked PO'd.

Lorne's focus turned to Sheppard, while his peripheral vision noted that everyone in the room was staring at him and Ronon had his gun aimed at him. _"I hope it's on stun." _He thought.

"Lorne?" Sheppard asked for the millionth time in five minutes.

"What's going on, Sir?"

"That's what I was going to ask you."

"Evan." Keller called as she went to walk around the table. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Doc. I'm fi-" He broke off with a gasp and bent double, clutching his head.

Lorne's knees buckled and he would've fallen hard if Sheppard hadn't grabbed his shoulders and helped lower him to the floor.

Keller was at his side in a flash, instantly going into Doctor Mode.

"I need a medical team in here, stat!" She ordered while checking Lorne's vitals. Lorne continued clutching his head, his face an expression of pure agony. He wasn't making a sound until Keller tried to move his hands away from his head, then he produced a pain-filled scream that pierced through everyone in the room. It lasted only a few seconds before Lorne fell into unconsciousness and his body went limp.

A medical team burst through the door only a second later and Keller began shouting orders. Within moments Lorne was on his way to the infirmary and hopefully an answer to many questions.

()_()_()_()_()_()

"There is evidence that his leg, arm, and several ribs were broken. But according to the scans, it was several weeks ago." Doctor Keller informed Woolsey, Sheppard, Coughlin and Reed.

"How's that possible?" Sheppard asked. "He hasn't been injured like that in months."

"I wish I knew, Colonel." She replied.

"How's the Major now?" Coughlin asked, they had yet to hear anything about his current condition.

"Physically, fine as far as I can tell. I still have a few more tests to run."

"Alright. Let us know as soon as you have anything." Sheppard supplied, effectively ending the conversation.

Keller nodded to show she had heard and understood and the men went their separate ways. Woolsey and Sheppard to their respective offices, Coughlin and Reed to Lorne's bedside. They might not have known exactly what was going on, but they did know that he wouldn't be alone through it.

~~End of chapter 3~~

AN: Thanks to everyone for reading! Now please review! I kinda/sorta/maybe know where this is going, but ideas help! And knowing that someone's actually reading this helps too. Anywho, it may be a couple weeks before I update, I'm currently on vacation and will be starting home tomorrow. So hectic life is ahead for me.


	4. You Did What With A Platypus?

AN: Thanks to everyone that's read, reviewed, alerted, favorited, or has done any combination of the before mentioned things! It's greatly appreciated! Also, it helps me know that there's actually people reading this! So, here's chapter four, lemme know whatcha think!

~~~~Chapter Four~~~~

Lorne awoke slowly. Unconsciousness fading, beginning to let the outside light come in. Because of that, he was able to open his eyes and actually see things instead of going blind because of the harsh infirmary lights shining right in his face.

He looked around carefully; He was hooked up to several monitors, half of which he had no idea what they did.

Listening for anyone nearby, he managed to overhear Doc Keller talking to someone. He was going to get her attention, when he realized she was talking about him. Figuring he might get a blunter version while listening in, he remained quiet.

"He's got a tumor." Keller said.

"Say what?" Sheppard asked, sounding truly befuddled.

"A few years ago, Jonas Quinn was a member of SG1. While there, he began have pre-cognitive abilities. As it turns out; these abilities were caused by a tumor in his brain. Once it was removed, the abilities stopped. I believe that this is what's happening to Major Lorne."

"Why do you think this is like that?"

"I compared the MRI of Jonas to the MRI of Major Lorne, and the tumor's are in almost the exact same location and the size and shape of both are identical."

"Would that cause him to be hallucinating?" Woolsey's voice broke in.

"I don't think so. I looked to see if there might be anything else wrong, but I didn't see anything. I was going to look again, just to be sure."

"Let us know if you come up with anything." Sheppard instructed.

"Will do." Keller agreed and from the sounds of it, the small group disbanded.

Lorne remained silent, trying to comprehend what he'd just heard. He had a tumor? How? Why? When? All these questions went through his mind quickly, making room for the main one. _"How long will I be unable to work?"_ He asked himself.

He needed some water for his dry throat, and a few answers, but he didn't feel like he could talk. So he did the next best thing, he began taking the heart monitor wires off. He knew the machines would scream loudly, and that would get Keller, or at least a nurse, over to his bed.

Sure enough, within seconds of the machines screaming, a nurse was at his side and Keller wasn't far behind.

"Major! You're awake!" Keller's voice was chipper, but to Lorne it sounded strained.

"Water." He said quietly.

"Of course." Keller said, grabbing a cup of ice chips from somewhere and slipping a few in between his lips. They were cold, but they melted quickly, wetting Lorne's dry mouth.

He felt able to talk a few minutes later and thankfully, Keller was still by his side.

"How's that, Major?" She asked.

"Better, thanks." He responded truthfully before deciding to get straight to the point, "How long have I been here and do you really think the tumor's causing me to hallucinate?"

She stared at him, slack-jawed. "You overheard us talking?"

Lorne just nodded in reply.

Keller composed herself as best she could before responding, "Well, I don't know about the visions, but with what happened with Jonas, I wouldn't be surprised. And you've been here about a day."

"Is there any reason why you can't remove the tumor ASAP?"

"Not as far as I know, but I'd like to finish going over the MRI's again before operating. Just in case."

Lorne nodded, "Alright. When can I get out of here?"

She sighed, "Well, now that you're awake and not showing any signs of anything, I suppose you can change and go. I've taken all the samples I need."

"Great! Thanks, Doc!" Lorne said happily. He had been pretty sure the Doc was gonna keep him longer, but he wasn't about to argue when she said he could go.

()_()_()_()_()_()

_Two Hours Later_

"And that is why you should never put a platypus in the bathtub." Coughlin finished.

His teammates just stared at him. "Please tell me you don't know this from personal experience?" Reed asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Coughlin said with a smile. "But a friend of mine does. Don't ask where he got the platypus, he never would tell us."

"Okay then. Let that be a lesson to us all- never feed Coughlin this weird blue chicken stuff ever again." Lorne announced to the table. He, Coughlin, Reed and Zelenka were sitting around a table in the mess hall eating lunch before the other three had to get back to work. Coughlin and Reed had a pre-mission briefing to get to and Zelenka had to get back to his lab before one of McKay's minions blew it up.

Coughlin and Reed were going as extra military escort to P3X-287 for some reason or other. Lorne personally thought it was because they were getting bored, and when they got bored, bad things happened. Kinda like with the Marines, only worse.

Before anyone could respond to Lorne's comment, the PA system came online, "Attention, Major Lorne to the infirmary immediately! I repeat, Major Lorne to the infirmary immediately! If anyone sees Major Lorne not headed to the infirmary, please escort him there or call a security team to do so. Thank you."

Suddenly, every eye in the mess hall was on Lorne. _"Way to end a great meal."_ He thought solemnly. "I guess I better get there. See you guys later." He said to his friends as he stood and walked out of the mess. He didn't worry about his tray; he knew Reed would grab it for him.

Walking to the infirmary was strange, to say the least. Everyone kept looking at him as if expecting him to grow a third ear or something. It was weird. And not in the weird as in 'This happens all the time around here' but as in the 'That isn't normal even for us' weird.

Walking _into_ the infirmary however, was relatively normal. Nurses going about their business, everything spick and span, and Keller in her office.

Heading towards Keller, Lorne noticed she was looking at an MRI. He guessed it was his. He also noticed that Sheppard and Woolsey were already there.

Opening her office door, he walked in greeting them, "Colonel, Doc, Mister Woolsey."

"Major, so glad you could join us. Any hallucinations lately?" Sheppard asked, the first part sarcastically, the second part serious.

"No, Sir. Not since I woke up today."

"That's good. Cause I found something." Keller informed him.

"What?"

"It's a small device implanted in your brain. It's extremely small and very well hidden."

"What type of device?"

"It's electronic, I know that much. I also know that at the time of this MRI, it was off."

"Okay." Lorne responded slowly. "Why did you call me and not McKay? He's usually better with the scientific stuff than I am."

"I saw a report once that mentioned something similar to this." She explained. "In the third year of the Stargate Program, there was an incident where all the members of SG1 began thinking things tasted better. Then, after about a day of that, a strange man appeared to them. No one else could see him, just them. He was being projected to them through their visual cortexes."

Knowing that they weren't going to understand all the medical terms, Keller dumbed it down, "He was basically a vision. He was appearing to them through a device that had been implanted in their brains. It was tiny, about the size of the one you have, and electronic. His purpose was to study them and report back to his 'Master' of sorts."

"Was it dangerous?" Sheppard asked, having spent no time at the SGC, the only stories he'd heard were from Ford. And those were limited.

Keller shook her head, "Not as far as they could tell."

"So this device is what caused me to see that man in the briefing room?" Lorne asked.

"I believe so, yes."

"Wow. That was a lot simpler than I thought it was. Or a lot more complicated, depending on how you look at it."

"How's that, Major?" Sheppard asked.

"I thought I was going insane. Glad to know I'm not!"

"Yes, well, let me know immediately if you see anything else." Keller told him.

"Sure thing, Doc." Lorne said with a grin.

"Alright, let's let the Doc get back to her work. I have paperwork to do." Sheppard announced.

"Who are you and what have you done with Colonel Sheppard?" Lorne joked, completely straight-faced.

"My name is George and I kidnapped him." Sheppard replied with an evil grin.

"Oh, for a second there I thought something bad had happened. Carry on then." Lorne said, his face breaking into a smile. "Colonel, Mister Woolsey, Doctor." He said respectfully as he turned and headed for the door, Sheppard and Woolsey following.

()_()_()_()_()_()

()_()_()_()_()_()

AN: So? I know it was kinda short (or it seemed short to me), but I didn't want to get to detailed about it, cause that would just confuse me. Also, can you tell I know NOTHING about medical stuff? I watch House to learn new terms, so yeah… Anyway, this is where you get to click the link and review! Or favorite… Or alert… Or all three… ;-D jk, but really, review! It helps me understand what I need to work on. See you next time!


	5. Visitation

AN: Wow! Chapter 5 already! So, thanks to everyone that's reviewed, alerted or favorited! Enjoy!

_Sirona_: Thank you so much for your review! I can't really answer without spoiling the story, but keep asking questions! It helps me figure out if I'm missing something!

/\_/\_/\

The next few days passed quietly. Nothing blew up, no one got captured, and Lorne had no new 'visions'.

Keller had informed him that she'd like to do surgery to remove both the device and the tumor soon.

The day before the scheduled surgery, Lorne was in briefings all day.

He stopped by the mess on the way to his quarters, hoping to eat, sleep, and in the morning be ready for the surgery. Fate seemed against him, though. For as he soon as he shut the door to his quarters, Little Man appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Evan." He said in greeting.

Not responding, Lorne called Sheppard and asked him to come to his quarters immediately.

"Now what was that for?" Little Man asked. "I've done nothing to you."

"You're a figment of my imagination; I'm not going to talk to you." Lorne said irritably. Having briefings all day tended to stretch his patience.

His door chiming signaled that Sheppard had arrived. Opening it, Lorne ushered him in.

"What's wro-" Sheppard started to speak before stopping in his tracks and staring in shock at the stranger in Lorne's quarters.

He was about to call for security when his radio suddenly popped from his ear and floated across the room. He saw Lorne's right beside it. They landed on a dresser across the room, behind Little Man.

"Lorne?" Sheppard began, turning to his 2IC. "What's going on?"

"You can see him?" Lorne asked, shocked.

"Well, yeah." Sheppard answered. "Who is he?"

"He's the Little Man I told you about."

"Wait… If you can see him, and I can see him, does that mean he's really here?"

"That or you have a bug in your brain too, Sir." Lorne said sarcastically.

"Funny." Sheppard said, turning back to Little Man. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Well, Evan here calls me 'Little Man', and I am also known as 'That One Guy', but my true name is Lucas."

"Well then, Lucas, what do you want?"

"To give you a warning. Don't go to M38-842."

"Why?" Lorne asked.

"I can't explain right now, just trust me on this."

"Why should we trust you?" It was Sheppard that asked this.

"Because I have yet to harm you."

"Yet?"

"I had ample opportunity to harm Evan, if I had wished, when he was in my care. Instead I chose to try to help him."

"Yeah, why'd you do that again?"

"Because he would have died without my assistance."

Lorne was unsurprised by this statement, he knew how bad off he'd been. "So, back to the original question, who are you?"

"I told you, my name is Lucas."

"Yeah, we got that. But are you an Ancient, a Gould, or what?"

Lucas considered his question for a moment before responding. "I already told you once, Evan, any questions regarding who I am will remain unanswered. You are not ready for the truth."

A small squeaking broke into their conversation; it was coming from Sheppard's earwig.

"I must leave now." Lucas told them. "I will return soon." He turned to Lorne. "Do not have your surgery tomorrow."

Before either man could respond, a bright green light filled the room, invading their thoughts and minds. Neither knew when consciousness left them, nor did they feel their bodies hitting the floor.

/\_/\

"Damn it!" McKay shouted, yanking the earwig out of his ear.

"What's wrong?" Ronon asked.

"Some kind of interference." McKay replied before activating his radio again, "McKay to Control Room."

"Go ahead, Doctor." Chuck's voice came back to him.

"I'm trying to find Sheppard, but he's not answering his radio and I have no idea where he is. Can you get a location for me?"

"Sure, Doc, gimme a minute." Within moments, Chuck's voice was talking to him again. "It looks like he and Major Lorne are in the Major's quarters."

"What? Why?" McKay asked, confusion writing itself on his face.

"I couldn't tell you, Doc."

"Okay, okay. McKay out." He said, not even bothering to thank the man. Turning to Ronon he said, "He's in Lorne's quarters."

"Why?" Ronon asked in typical Ronon fashion.

"I don't know. But his radio isn't working."

Activating his radio, McKay tried calling Lorne. Again, static came through to him. Deactivating it quickly, he again addressed his friend. "Lorne's radio isn't working either."

"That's not a coincidence." Ronon stated.

"Thank you Mister Stater of the Obvious!" McKay sniped. "Let's go find out what's going on."

/\_/\

They arrived at Lorne's quarters the same time as Teyla.

Ringing the chime had no response, so McKay hijacked the controls and opened it himself.

Ronon was the first inside; seeing the two men lying on the ground he quickly checked for a pulse on both of them. "They're alive." He said. "Get a medical team in here."

Teyla quickly called for one, standing at the doorway, out of the way. McKay was looking around the room. He spotted two earwigs across the room from where Sheppard and Lorne lay and made his way over. Picking them up, he confirmed that they were both dead.

"This isn't a coincidence." He said, repeating what Ronon had said a few minutes earlier. "Both earwigs are dead and they're unconscious? No, something's going on."

"Could this have anything to do with Major Lorne's recent adventure?" Teyla ventured a guess.

"I don't know. Possibly." McKay said, looking around for any other electronic devices. He spotted Lorne's computer tablet on his bed and picked it up, easily confirming that it also was dead. "Whatever happened, it fried all the electronics."

The medical team chose then to arrive, pushing Ronon and McKay out of the way so they could load the two men on gurneys.

"I need to take these," He held up the tablet and earwigs, "down to the lab and try to figure out what fried them. One of you gets to tell Woolsey what happened."

"I will do it." Teyla said, knowing that she was the obvious choice.

"I'll be in the gym." Ronon stated, heading out the door.

/\_/\

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Ugh." He muttered, trying to open his eyes.

"Colonel?"

"Doc?"

"Open your eyes."

Prying one open, Sheppard realized it wasn't as bright out as he had first thought and opened the other to look at the doctor beside him. "What happened?" He asked.

"I was going to ask you that."

It all came back to him, Lorne calling him, talking to the man, and the man telling Lorne to not have the surgery.

"Uh, it's hard to explain." He began. "Can you do an MRI on me?"

"Why?" Keller asked, confused.

"Long story." He sighed. "I need you to find out if I have either a tumor or a device like Lorne's in my brain."

"Why? What makes you think you might?"

"Cause I saw the dude Lorne was talking about. His name's Lucas." Sheppard tried to explain, knowing he'd end up answering more questions.

Thankfully, Keller took his word for it and called for a nurse to get him under the scanner for a brain scan.

Within 30 minutes of him waking, Keller had his results. "None. No tumors and no devices." She told him.

"So the guy really could've been there?" He asked, puzzled.

"It's possible." She answered. "Now, we can play twenty questions later, you need some rest." She said, going into Doctor Mode.

"Yes, Ma'am." Sheppard said meekly.

"Don't give me that." She laughed. "And don't try sneaking out either, I want you here when Major Lorne wakes up."

"Well, I suppose I could stay until Lorne wakes up. I want to hear his side of this story."

/\_/\_/\

AN: So I _thought_ I knew where this was going, but I'm adding a twist. So bear with me! Now then, review!


	6. Out of the Frying Pan

AN: I know it's been a while, but life finally caught up with me and shoved me into the raging river that it is. So, I hope this makes up for the delay! As always, read and review!

Happy Thanksgiving to any who celebrate it :) Thanksgiving is not just a time to celebrate what you possess. It's a time to celebrate with your family and friends that you _have_ family and friends. And for those that believe, it's a time to thank God for it all. And that I do. Not just today, but every day.

Thanks to everyone that's reviewed! It means a lot!

_Sirona: Guess you'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for reviewing!_

_MJB: Actually, I'd never even heard of that guy until you mentioned it! I went and listened to his song, very strange indeed. And as for the platypus comment, one of my best friends was doing an 'anime' and one of the lines in it was that. So I had to honor her by incorporating it into this. Thanks for reviewing!_

_Kate Mulder: I'm sorry if this wasn't quick enough. Life is landsliding towards me, especially with Thanksgiving prep, Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving clean-up (my family always does a big Thanksgiving meal. We had 45 show up this year), and my time is flying out the window! Thanks for reviewing!_

/\_/\_/\_/\

"So what could it be?" Lorne asked from where he sat at the briefing room table.

On his right was Sheppard, with Coughlin and Reed on his left. Teyla, Ronon, McKay and Keller were on the opposite side of the table, while Woolsey sat at the head.

"I don't know." Keller replied.

Lorne had been awake for a few hours now, waking shortly after Sheppard. As it was they were discussing what could be wrong with the two of them. Lorne had the tumor and the device in his brain, but Sheppard didn't have either.

"Doctor," Woolsey began, "Do you believe we should go ahead with Major Lorne's surgery?"

"I'd like to get it done as soon as possible." She replied. "Life can get pretty crazy pretty fast and I'd like for him to be ready for duty as soon as possible."

"Alright then, will tomorrow morning work?"

"That's fine. It won't take long, but he'll probably be out all day."

Before anyone could say anything more, Chuck's voice came over the PA with 'unscheduled offworld activation'.

Sheppard and Lorne were the first ones out the door, followed quickly by the others.

"What've we got?" Sheppard demanded, heading to stand next to Chuck.

"No IDC." Chuck replied. "And no teams are due back for another three hours."

Lorne stood to the side, carefully watching the shimmering blue covered by the shield. His gut told him something bad was about to happen, he just didn't know what.

"Can you shut it down?" He asked, turning from the gate.

Chuck shook his head, "No."

"What's up, Lorne?" Sheppard asked quizzically.

"I don't know. Just a feeling." He replied. He knew Sheppard of all people would understand with no questions asked. Military men had a habit of going by their gut in times like this. And Lorne's had never let him down.

The gate continued to shimmer for a few moments. Still no IDC or any kind of transmission.

Suddenly, a man came walking through the gate. Not just through the gate, but through the shield.

"Don't shoot!" Lorne shouted to the guards down below as he quickly made his way down the stairs, Sheppard following.

Stalking up to the man, Lorne reared back and slugged him. Surprisingly, the man's only reaction was turning his head to go with the punch. Most men are taken down by less than one of Lorne's little hits.

"Now Evan." Lucas said, very much in a scolding tone. "Is that any way to greet me?"

"Greet you?" Lorne asked. "Every time I see you I send up in the infirmary! I'm beginning to know the place better than Sheppard!"

"It's not my fault your little human brain is so frail." Lucas replied flippantly, turning to Sheppard. "Hello there!" He said cheerfully. "Are you and Evan free for the afternoon, by any chance?"

"Not really, why?"

"No matter. I'm sure your schedule will clear itself."

"Wha-" Sheppard began to ask when he suddenly felt very light. Looking down, he was shocked to find himself floating.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sheppard saw Lorne in the same position.

"Put them down!" Ronon demanded, his gun aimed straight at Lucas' head.

"Now, now. Violence never solved anything." Lucas said, still extremely cheerful. As soon as the words left his mouth, Ronon's gun was floating above his head.

No one knew what to do or say next. This man could obviously take them all down easily. And apparently he wanted something from Sheppard and Lorne.

Lucas began walking backwards, the two men floating along with him.

"Stop!" Woolsey shouted, speaking for the first time. "What do you want from us?"

Lucas paused and looked at the crowd watching him. "Simple, a new host." He said as his eyes glowed and his voice changed.

Without saying anything else, he walked backwards through the still open gate and shield, Sheppard and Lorne had no choice but to float along through the gate after him.

/\_/\_/\

AN: Muahahahahahahahahahaha! I told you I knew where this was going! I just hope people actually stayed to read it! Anyway, review please!


	7. Into the Fire

AN: So I realized today that this story is mostly finished, I think, and I'm hoping to get it written soon! Thanksgiving cleanup is done, Christmas prep is… well, we'll ignore that for now. Anyway, hopefully I'll have time to write over Christmas break.

Thanks to _Ladygris_ and _Sirona_ for reviewing and _Kjnh_ and _Galabrielle18_ for alerting!

_Sirona: First, you're welcome._

_Second, so I've been told. Thank you for re-affirming that notice._

_Lucas is a very interesting character. Many quirks about him. I like to think of him as a maniacal killer that plays games with his prey._

_But what if he's not? That, my friend, is the million dollar question._

_Don't worry, Sheppard will be fine. Lorne on the other hand… ;) Well, you get my drift._

_And, I'm sorry if this wasn't soon enough. Thanks for reviewing!_

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

Sheppard awoke slowly. He tried to recall what had happened, but it seemed to slide out of his grasp before he could remember.

Opening his eyes, he saw that: 1) he was in a cell and 2) he was alone.

Suddenly, he remembered what had happened. Lucas in Atlantis, Lucas' eyes glowing, Lucas taking both himself and Lorne through the gate, and Lucas stunning them both.

But where was Lorne?

Standing and walking to his cell door, he looked out but couldn't see anything except more cell doors. They seemed identical to his own, with metal slotted doors and walls made of stone.

/\_/\

Lorne's awakening was quite different. He jerked awake, looking around.

Seeing no one in the room, Lorne quickly took stock of himself and his surroundings.

He was fine, more or less. His head was pounding from being stunned, but otherwise he seemed alright.

He was sitting on a large bed which sat in the middle of the room. Said bed had a large teal canopy over it and was surrounded by wardrobes and dressers.

Standing, he quickly searched throughout the room for any weapons he could use, but found none. He was wearing Pegasus native clothing, his Atlantis uniform nowhere in sight.

Lorne tore the canopy off one of the bed posts, and broke the post off. Breaking it in two, he realized that it would be a good substitute for bantos rods. He'd sparred with Teyla on many occasions and was reasonably good with the rods.

Holding the make-shift rods ready, Lorne slowly opened the only door in the room, hoping it headed to outside.

Unfortunately, it didn't. Evan was now at the end of a long hall with what looked like cells on each side.

"Only one way to go." He muttered to himself as he started off towards the other end of the hall, where a door, identical to the one he'd just come out of, stood.

Carefully checking each cell before passing, Lorne was not surprised to find them empty. Lucas wanted him for something, but Lorne was hoping he'd get away first.

/\_/\

An hour later, Lorne had still not found his way out of the complex. It seemed to be just a giant maze, with only one correct way out and lots of dead ends.

He'd found quite a few more cells, but they too were empty. He hoped Colonel Sheppard would be around somewhere, but had yet to find him.

Turning a corner, Lorne found himself face to face with Lucas. Raising the make-shift bantos rods, Lorne tried to prepare himself for whatever Lucas had planned.

"Evan!" Lucas greeted him cheerfully. "How are you? I apologize for not coming to you as soon as you woke, but I had urgent matters to attend to."

It was then that Lorne noticed that Lucas stood beside a cell, and in that cell stood Sheppard.

"Colonel." He greeted. "You alright?"

"Just dandy. You?" Sheppard replied easily.

"Fine, Sir." The standard reply slipped off his tongue like clockwork before his attention returned to Lucas. "What do you want with us?" He asked.

"You, quite a few things. John, on the other hand, will be released shortly."

"What do you want with me?"

"Nothing that is not out of your power to agree to." Lucas said cryptically. "But enough of that, please, Evan, have a seat."

Lucas gestured to a chair that had been set to the side, out of the way. Lorne felt himself being pulled towards the chair, and though he tried to fight it, couldn't and soon found himself sitting in the metal chair, bedpost rods on the floor across the room.

"John." Lucas began, "You will witness a process, then you will be released. You will not attempt a rescue or Evan will be killed instantly, understood?"

Sheppard nodded mutely, knowing there was nothing he could do against this crazy man.

"Good." Lucas smiled at Lorne. "Now then, this may sting slightly."

The back of Lucas' neck began bulging unnaturally, and within a few seconds a slit appeared in it, a Goa'uld symbiote slithering out. Once the symbiote was completely out, Lucas' body fell to the ground, unmoving. The Goa'uld moved towards Lorne's chair, slowly climbing it.

Lorne struggled for all he was worth, but to no avail. The Goa'uld reached his neck and proceeded to take control of his body. His mind screamed out for help, but his body was out of his control. He saw himself stand and move towards Sheppard's cell, telling him 'goodbye' and watching as he vanished.

/\_/\_/\

AN: Okay, okay! I know! Short chapter! But I kinda wanted to go ahead and get something out rather than make you wait even longer for a longer chapter. Thanks to all who've stayed with me thus far!


	8. Answers

AN: I'm feeling slightly generous, so here's another chapter! I'm hoping to have this done around Christmas, but that might not happen. In any case, read and review!

Special thanks to _Ladygris_, _Sirona_, _TeamDraco_, _SgtGroganSG_ and _Crye 4 Me_ for reviewing, _TeamDraco_ for favoriting and alerting and _Crye 4 Me_ for alerting! Thank you all SOOOOOOOO much! It means a lot!

_In response to Sirona's review:_

_No, not at all! Lorne whump is the best kind!_

_This chapter should answer that question._

_When has Sheppard ever followed instructions? And Lorne's stubborn, so we'll see what that does for him._

_Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy!_

/\_/\_/\

Sheppard watched in horror as the Goa'uld took over Lorne's body. He had never felt so helpless.

Lucas, in Lorne's body, stood and walked over to his cell. "Goodbye, John." A deep voice, very un-Lorne-like, told him. Before he could object, he felt himself be beamed away.

Looking around, he found himself in front of the DHD. An Atlantis vest and uniform lay underneath it. Taking a closer look, he saw that it was Lorne's gear. Sheppard slung the gear over his shoulder and dialed Atlantis, sending through his IDC before activating the radio.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard. We've got a problem, and I need to come on back to explain it and get a few teams together."

"Do not step through yet, Colonel." Woolsey's voice told him. "Follow these instructions to the letter, and then we'll see about solving your problem."

Woolsey then told him to step through the gate with no weapons in hand, once through he was to set down anything he might have and slowly spread eagle on the floor. Any differing from those instructions and he would be shot.

Sheppard did as instructed, understanding the precautions. Stepping through the gate, Sheppard saw not only the gate team carefully aiming their weapons at him, but also Ronon.

Sheppard lay spread eagle for a few moments before he sensed an ancient scanner running over his body.

"He's clean." McKay's voice drifted down to him.

"Stand up, Colonel. Welcome back." Woolsey said. "I apologize for that, but it was necessary."

"Don't worry about it. We've got bigger problems." Sheppard said, picking up Lorne's gear and handing it off to a nearby Marine. "That's Lorne's stuff, go put it away."

"Yes, Sir." The Marine answered before moving off to do as he was told.

"Where's Lorne?" Ronon asked gruffly, getting straight to the point.

"He's a host to the Goa'uld. The one we know as Lucas."

"Damn. What's your plan?" McKay asked.

"Take a few teams and rescue him. I recognized some of the stuff around, so I figure we've been there before but labeled it 'un-inhabited'."

"However many teams you need, take them. Let's get the Major back."

"Thank you." Sheppard said, truly grateful that Woolsey was not trying to stop him.

/\_/\

It'd been about two hours since the invasion into his head, and Lorne had figured out that Lucas was having to re-learn his special ability techniques. He'd already re-mastered the basic things, and was currently working on the harder ones. Whenever Lucas would try to recall something from his memory, Lorne tried his best to interfere, and so far it had worked. Instead of being able to recall something in mere moments, it took more than fifteen minutes to do so.

Lorne figured that if Sheppard did come back, it would hopefully be to put him out of his misery.

Having Lucas in his head did give him one advantage, and that was that he could 'see' into Lucas' mind. He found that Lucas had been a powerful System Lord a few centuries ago, but when he began experimenting with Ancient tech, he was banished.

With nowhere else to go, Lucas went to Pegasus. Ancient tech was more prominent there and Lucas had more time to experiment. His experiments only went so far, as his old host hadn't had the gene. So when Lucas had noticed the gene in Sheppard when his team had been exploring an 'un-inhabited' planet, he knew it was time to find a new host.

He didn't want Sheppard, though. While his gene was strong, it wasn't tuned enough to control the devices.

He had watched the Atlantis teams for a while before deciding on Lorne. His gene was not quite as strong as Sheppard's, but it seemed more tuned and controlled.

When Lorne and his team had just been walking along a mesa that day, Lucas decided it was the perfect opportunity to learn more about his possible new host.

He had caused a small part of the mesa to fall away and Lorne to fall. He had wanted Lorne to get as hurt as possible, without killing him, to see how he handled the pain. Seeing how he handled the pain cinched the deal.

Healing him had been easy, and while doing so he had implanted both the tumor and the device. The tumor was used to hide the device for as long as possible. The device was so that Lucas could track Lorne. When he had 'appeared' to Lorne and Sheppard, he was doing so to test out a new hologram machine he'd found. A side effect of the machine was that when the hologram ended, any persons looking as the hologram fell unconscious and all electronics, not Ancient, were immediately fried.

/\_/\

"Colonel, you have a go." Woolsey said as he looked down on the teams filling the gate room, ready to head out. "Bring him back."

Sheppard nodded to show he had heard and understood. He had his team, three others, plus Coughlin and Reed.

"Alright people, let's move out!"

/\_/\_/\

AN: I know this is another short chapter, but that's okay. I figured you'd want another chapter rather than waiting longer for a longer chapter. I hope this explained some of the questions you've had. If I missed anything, let me know! As always, hope you enjoyed, now review!


	9. Now, What Was That Song?

AN: Hello all! I'm kinda surprised I have time to write, I'm so unused to it. But I'm going to take advantage of it! And now I'm back again to bring you another chapter! Enjoy!

Also, I had this chapter done and up, but after thinking about it for awhile, decided it wasn't quite right and made myself go back and change it.

Special thanks go to _Ladygris_, _Sirona_, _AWanderersHaven_, _Crye_ _4_ _Me_ and _TeamDraco_ for reviewing! And thanks to _AWanderersHaven_ (otherwise known as my sister) for alerting! Even though I tell you every time a new chapter's up…

Also, I'd like to thank _Crye 4 Me_ for the wonderful suggestion! I took it to heart and, as you can see, have included it in this chapter. Thanks again!

_In response to Sirona's review:_

_Thanks! And indeed you were!_

_I am too! Oh wait… I'm writing it… oh well, I can be excited about it too!_

_Thanks for reviewing!_

_~Penguin_

Disclaimer: The only thing that's mine is Lucas and the plotline. Even some of the plot bunnies aren't mine, as they were inspired by readers. So, it's not mine, don't sue. If you like Lucas and want to use him in a story of your own, go right ahead. All I ask is that you send me a message letting me know so I can read it :)

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

Lorne had tried everything he could to hinder Lucas in his current quest to regain his powers. He was currently trying to relearn his telekinesis. Every time he'd tried so far, the clay pot raised about two feet off the ground before plummeting back to the ground. Several times the pot remained intact, but the others, it shattered.

The reason for that was simple. Lucas would begin raising the pot, and Lorne would begin singing 'It's a Small World'. That was enough of a distraction that Lucas would lose his concentration and have to start over.

Occasionally Lorne would sing others like 'The Song that Never Ends' and a variation of the Barney theme song.

"Be silent." Lucas commanded.

"And if I don't want to?" Lorne asked.

"I will make you." Lucas growled.

"How? I'm your host. You can't do anything to me without harming yourself in the process."

Lucas just growled, knowing Lorne was right.

To his right, a light began flashing on an Ancient console. Walking over, Lucas found that he had visitors. Pulling up the security camera footage, he saw men in military garb, led by Sheppard, prowling the hallways.

"No!" He shouted while Lorne silently cheered. "How did they get in?" Lucas asked himself. Not having an answer, Lucas turned back to the security footage, surprised to find no one on the cameras. "Where'd they go?" He asked rhetorically.

"Right behind you." Sheppard's voice came to him.

Turning around, Lorne saw ten men aiming P90's at him. At the center of the line of men stood Sheppard. McKay and Teyla were on either side of him while Ronon stood to the side, next to Coughlin and Reed.

"John." Lucas began, his voice still in the deep Gou'ald like tone. "How good of you to drop in."

"Sorry I can't stay for supper, I just came to pick up a friend." Sheppard told him sarcastically.

Thinking quickly, Lorne tried to figure out a way to let Sheppard know that he was still there and fighting. He'd been 'singing' songs to irritate Lucas, maybe getting a reaction would be a good indicator for his team.

"Hey, Lucas." He said before launching into 'The Song That Everybody Knows'.  
"This is the song that everybody knows,  
Everybody knows,  
Everybody knows.  
This is the song that everybody knows,  
And this is how it goes."  
"Silence!" Lucas mentally commanded.  
"Dang it." Lorne thought. "No reaction."

"So why don't you let him go and we'll get out of your hair." Sheppard said, bringing Lorne's attention back to what was currently happening.

"That will not be possible. You know very well I need a host and Evan is doing very well as one."

Contemplating where to take this, Lucas continued. "However, I will give you an ultimatum."

Lorne chose that moment to ask Lucas 'Cake or Death'?

Lucas' face scrunched up in a questioning manner. "Cake or Death?"

Sheppard shared a glance with McKay. "What?"

"Sheppard better get this or I could be stuck here forever." Lorne thought before he spoke again to Lucas, "Boy named Sue."

Lucas' face scrunched up even farther, "Why would anyone name their male offspring 'Sue'?"

"What?" Sheppard asked again. "Male offspring named Sue?"

McKay snapped his fingers quickly, much like he did when he had an idea, "Boy Named Sue!"

"I knew that." Sheppard told him.

"Of course you did." Lorne said as he silently cheered. "Hey, Lucas. I whip my hair."

"What do you mean? Your hair is now my hair and it is not long enough to make into a whip." Lucas replied aloud, receiving strange looks in return from the rescue party.

"School's out forever.

School's been blown to pieces."

"What is this 'school' and why has it been blown to pieces?" Lucas asked, truly confused.

"I hate everything about you."

"I am not sure I like you either."

"I need a hero to save me now."

"You need no hero. I am a god."

Lorne didn't stop there. He needed them to know that he was still alive and kicking. "I'm awake, I'm alive."

"Not for long if you don't stop!"

Lorne was able to hear Sheppard whisper to McKay before he spoke again to Lucas. "I'll just bet Lorne's in there bugging the crap out of Lucas."

"It's hiding in the dark  
It's teeth are razor sharp  
There's no escape for me  
It wants my soul,  
It wants my heart  
No one can hear me scream  
Maybe it's just a dream  
Or maybe it's inside of me  
Stop this monster!"

"You are beginning to wear on my patience, be silent!" Lucas commanded uselessly.

"Live free or let me die."

"That can be arranged!" He shouted, moving backwards towards the Ancient console. Cries of 'Hold it' and 'Don't move' went unheeded as Lucas quickly pressed a few buttons before sliding his hand under the console.

Stunner shots rang out and the blue light covered Lorne's body from head to toe, but were of no use. Ronon's gun however, was of use. The red light engulfed Lorne's body and he fell to the ground. He heard, but didn't register, the squealing of a Gou'ald as it tried to slither away.

Lorne was unable to move as a dull pain rang throughout his head and neck. A sharp stabbing pain started from his hand and quickly made its way throughout his body, making him want to scream.

P90's, stunners and Ronon's gun all rang out into the air and Lorne could only hope they'd managed to kill the little rodent. He began to not care when the pain increased tenfold and he felt his body convulse of it's own accord. It slowly became harder to breathe, his breaths becoming ragged and shallow. Suddenly, there were people beside him, trying to hold him down.

"Lorne? Lorne!" He heard Sheppard shout at him but was unable to respond.

He felt himself being turned on his side and, all of a sudden, it was easier to breathe, but the pain was still there and he could not seem to get anyone's attention. His eyes were open and he saw Teyla in front of him, her mouth was moving but no sound was reaching his ears.

His body quit convulsing and he was laid back down, now able to see his CO above him, trying to talk to him. He still was unable to respond in any way, and he felt his eyes begin to close as his body tried to deal with the pain.

"Lorne!" He was suddenly able to hear. "Stay with us! Come on! Stay with us!"

"Colonel." He gasped out before his entire vision went black and he fell limp, unaware of the hands holding him.

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

AN: Alrighty, sooooooooooooooooooo, 1) the cliffhanger was my sister's fault- this is what you get when you try to read over my shoulder while I write.  
2) The songs were as follows:  
Willow Smith- I Whip My Hair  
Alice Cooper- School's Out  
Three Days Grace- I Hate Everything About You  
Skillet- Hero, Awake & Alive, Monster, Live Free or Let Me Die

I don't own 'em. The most I've done is seen Skillet live twice. Other than that, nope. And I've never even heard the songs by Alice Cooper and Three Days Grace- _Crye 4 Me_ suggested them so I used them.


	10. Kink in the Plan

AN: OK, so everyone should know that after I posted chapter 9, I went back and majorly edited it. I wasn't very happy with how it turned out, so I fixed it. I'm really happy with how it is now, and I suggest you all go back and re-read that chapter before reading this one. And a quick note, LOTS of Lorne whump to come!

Special thanks to _Ladygris_, _Sirona_, _Crye_ _4_ _Me_ and _AWanderersHaven_ for reviewing! And thanks to _Andriabow_ for alerting!

_In response to Sirona's review:_

_Indeed! And another!_

_I changed it a bit, and he doesn't give up quite so fast. But like you said, as long as the good guys win in the end… Just keep that in mind when you finish this chapter!_

_Hmmmm, guess you'll still be pondering that since I didn't explain it in this chapter :)_

_Thanks for reviewing!_

_~Penguin_

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

"Lorne!" Sheppard exclaimed, quickly checking his 2IC's pulse and breathing.

Sheppard was pleased to find that both were returning to normal.

Thinking for only a moment, Sheppard began giving instructions. "Ronon, you and Teyla take Lorne back to Atlantis. McKay and I will stay here with everyone else and try to find out where that little zkurvysyn went."

A nod of understanding came from Ronon as he bent and picked Lorne up off the floor, slinging him over his shoulder. "We'll be back." He called back before he disappeared down the hallway, Teyla following closely.

"McKay!"

"Yes yes yes." Rodney replied, eyes running over every inch of the Ancient console. "You've been hanging out with Zelenka too much."

"Why do you say that?

"Zkurvysyn? As far as I know, the only person on Atlantis that speaks Czech is Zelenka."

"Maybe I'm trying to learn. Where'd that snake go?"

"Very funny, and I'm trying to figure that out. You saw the escape tube as well as I did, I just need to find out where it goes."

"How long will that take?"

"I don't know! This is a completely new console and I have no idea what it does!"

"Well figure it out so I can go kill the thing!"

"Alright, alright! Keep your shirt on!"

/\_/\

"Run!" Ronon shouted needlessly as he backpedaled and tried to get behind some cover.

They'd just gotten in sight of the gate, and the 30 men guarding it with Wraith stunners. As soon as they were in sight, the men began firing at them. They didn't hit anything, as Ronon and Teyla were too quick for them, but even the former runner and the Athosian leader couldn't take down 30 men by themselves. Especially while Ronon was carrying an unconscious major.

"Colonel Sheppard." Teyla spoke calmly into the radio. "There are men guarding the Stargate, we cannot get through."

"We'll be right there." Sheppard said quietly.

"Where did those men come from?" Teyla asked from her position a few trees over.

"I don't know. But I'll bet it has something to do with that snake."

"Indeed." A third voice broke in. "It is the wishes of our god."

The two Atlanteans raised their weapons to shoot the man in the tree, but were not quick enough. Multiple stunner blasts hit them both and they couldn't fight it off. They fell to the ground, unaware of the figures coming towards them.

/\_/\

"Ronon, Teyla, what's your position?" Sheppard asked again into the radio as he and the crew that was with him ran through the woods, headed towards the gate.

"Hold up." McKay gasped.

"Ronon and Teyla are in trouble and you want us to hold up?"

"I heard something."

"What? Where?"

"Over there." McKay pointed off into the trees on their right. "It sounded like a radio."

"Ronon, Teyla, what's your position?" He asked yet again into the radio.

They could barely hear the sound of someone's radio, Sheppard's voice coming through.

Changing direction, they headed towards the sound, stumbling upon Ronon and Teyla.

Two men headed to check their vitals while the rest looked around the area.

"Well here they are, but where's Lorne?" McKay finally asked.

"I wish I knew." Sheppard told him.

/\_/\

Lorne came back to the land of the living with the feeling of something stabbing him coming from his arm. Turning his sluggish head to look at his arm, he wasn't surprised to see a needle in it. However, the needle wasn't one from Atlantis, and that surprised him.

"Good morning, Evan." A Gou'ald's voice came to him.

Looking up, Lorne saw a tall, dark man in front of him. The man had a head full of black hair and a sleeveless shirt allowed him to also see the man's muscular arms and chest.

"Who're you?" Lorne slurred.

"Why, Evan! You know who I am! Well, I did have to get a new host after you were lost. But no matter, I am here to deal with your impertinence while you were my host. I couldn't do anything to you then. But I can now."

"_Oh crap."_ Lorne thought. _"Lucas."_

/\_/\

An hour later, they still had not found anything. There were no tracks & Lorne's subcutaneous transmitter wasn't being picked up. They'd had to take Ronon and Teyla back to Atlantis, but only took a few minutes and soon they were back and searching again.

"Alright." Sheppard said, calling an end to the search. "We're not gonna find him this way, let's go."

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

AN: You thought they'd just go back to Atlantis and everything'd be fine, right? Well, looks like that's not the case.

Zkurvysyn is Czech for a curse phrase. I always liked how in 'Grace Under Pressure', Radek started cursing rapidly and Sheppard says 'I think my Czech's getting better, 'cause I know what you mean.' That made me think that perhaps Sheppard would be learning a little Czech from Radek. Mostly how to curse, but maybe some other things.


	11. Beating Around The Bush

AN: So this is my Christmas chapter, and I might not get another up before the end of the year. But never fear! I shall return to finish it! Enjoy this chapter and drop me a line at the end!  
May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Special thanks to _Ladygris_, _Sirona_, _Crye_ _4_ _Me_ & _AWanderersHaven_ for reviewing!

_In response to Sirona's review:_

_But of course! I couldn't just let it end there!_

_LOL! No reason to get cranky? Hmmmmm, he might disagree with you there!_

_Ponder away! But first, please read and enjoy!_

_Thanks for reviewing!_

_~Penguin_

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

A fist to the gut, another to his jaw. One to his ribs, and yet another to his jaw, blood dripping from the cuts.

Lorne's head hung to the side while he tried to get his breath back. Lucas stood in front of him, rubbing his fist.

This had been going on for several days now, Lucas coming into his cell, beating him for a while, and then untying him and leaving. He fed him occasionally, mostly pieces of stale bread.

"You handle your punishment well." Lucas remarked. "Let's see how you handle this."

Lorne looked up in time to see a cattle prod-type thing coming towards him. It was actually a Gou'ald torture stick, but he'd always preferred the name 'cattle prod'.

The prod landed on his leg, and he tried to hold in the scream that threatened to rip from his lips as the pain came in a huge wave, not letting up. He arched back into the chair as yellow light burst from his eyes and mouth.

The prod was raised and Lorne collapsed back into the chair with a gasp, trying to catch his breath again. He only had a few more moments of air before the pain was back, in a different form this time.

Lucas struck his face once, twice, three times, producing a split lip and a bruised jaw. Lorne's head went with each hit and he was sure he now had whiplash, as his neck was throbbing.

Raising his head despite the pain, Lorne glared at his captor. Lucas replied by shocking him with the prod again.

Lorne's body arched again, the pain radiating throughout his worn body. The new cuts on his face hurting greatly. He managed to hold in his scream, however, and he knew that it irked Lucas.

The prod was taken away, his body folding in on itself, and Lorne was able to glance up just in time to see the stick swinging towards his face. He was aware of pain throughout his head, and then nothing.

/\_/\

"Off-world activation!" Chuck announced.

"IDC?" Sheppard asked. They were expecting several teams back, hopefully one of them would have news of Lorne.

"Major Teldy's IDC."

"Let 'em through." Sheppard ordered, heading for the stairs. He reached the bottom just as Major Teldy and her team came through.

"Colonel, we've got something." That was all Teldy needed to say before she was ushered into the briefing room for a full recount, her team heading for their post-mission checks.

P3X-498, the planet they were visiting, was home to the Baranians. Much like the Athosians, Baran had a lot of visitors. One trader had come through not two days earlier and told the villagers of a man with glowing eyes. The man was said to have a special prisoner, one that had his un-divided attention.

The man with glowing eyes had supposedly taken some people from this man's village; one in particular for what was called a 'host'.

"Did this trader happen to know where?" Sheppard asked when Teldy was finished.

"Yes, Sir. We have a gate address." The Major said, standing in preparation to leave the room. "Do you want us to come with you?" She asked.

"Yeah, but go get your post-mission check with the Doc while I gather up some others. We're not letting that snake escape again."

"Yes, Sir." Teldy said, heading for the door.

/\_/\

When Lorne came to, he was lying on the floor of his cell; the chair he had been tied in was in pieces beside him. The chair was metal, so the fact that is was in pieces said a lot about how irked Lucas must've been.

Lorne tried to move, groaning as his sore muscles protested. Pushing past that, he rolled into a sitting position, moving to sit against the wall. He wasn't surprised to feel dried blood plastered to his head, but the amount did slightly shock him. Looking around, Lorne saw a small plate with bread on it near the door. However, instead of the usual stale bread, this looked fresh. Beside it sat a cup, but he was unable to see into it from where he was.

It hurt, but he was able to crawl over to it. He saw that it was indeed fresh bread and the cup was filled with water. Clear, fresh, cool water. Sipping it, Lorne silently thanked whoever had brought it.

Lorne's eyes went again to the metal pieces on the floor, even as he ate the bread. His mind running a hundred miles an hour, Lorne quickly came up with a plan. His cell was secured with a good old fashioned lock; perhaps he could use the metal pieces to pick it.

He made his way over to the closest piece, picking it up and testing its strength. He needed small pieces to fit into the keyhole, and this one seemed perfect. It held and he picked out another piece, crawling back over to the door.

Reaching out and around, Lorne tried several times to pick the lock. He almost dropped his picks a few times, but he managed to hang onto them.  
Eventually, he got the picks to work right, and the door swung open. However, he had used most of his energy trying to pick the lock, and he now leaned against the wall, exhausted.

/\_/\

Sheppard and company moved silently through the woods, searching for the opening that would lead them down into Lucas' lair and hopefully to Lorne, alive.

"Over here." McKay whispered, motioning to his right, eyes still on the LSD he had. "Right about… here." He said as he stopped right in front of a large stone circular object with a metal grate covering the top.

Ronon lifted the grate, and Sheppard shown his light down into the pit-like stone passageway, checking for anything that might be there. A ladder led down into the pit, and Sheppard grasped the first rung, stepping into the grate, headed down.

/\_/\

Lorne knew he had to move or he'd never get out of there. He pushed himself off the wall, considering it an improvement when the room didn't spin. He picked two of the largest metal pieces to use as impromptu bantos rods, but if Lucas had gotten his powers back, he'd be in trouble.

He slowly made his way down the hall away from his cell, not surprised when he saw no one.

Opening the door at the end of the pathway, Lorne looked out and checked his surroundings. No one was in sight; he moved onwards, headed towards a door just to the left of the one he'd previously opened. He moved on through that door as well, hoping he wasn't going in circles.

This hall opened into a large cavern, high ceiling and stalactites making it seem as though he was underground. He'd been to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico a few times with his sister, and this cavern reminded him of that. Except this one had torchlight and Ancient consoles lighting it instead of flashlights.

Lorne moved around the stalactites, carefully checking for booby-traps. He wasn't looking hard enough, because the fist came out of nowhere, sending him backwards into the wall. His poles skidding across the floor, Lorne looked dazedly up into Lucas' eyes.

He tried to stand, but the room spun and he sat back down, knowing his time was up when Lucas' eyes glowed evilly and he lifted one glittering hand.

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

AN: I've been to Carlsbad Caverns twice in my lifetime, once a few years ago and again this past October. If you've never been, I suggest you go. It's completely and utterly amazing.  
Merry Christmas!


	12. Torturous Encounter

AN: So I had some time on my hands and I decided to write! Hope your Christmas was amazing, I know mine was! I know most of you didn't even have a chance to read the last chapter before I posted this one, but I really wanted to get it out :)

Special thanks to _Ladygris_ for reviewing!

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

Sheppard and Ronon silently led the men through the halls of Lucas' fortress. The stone echoed against them, and even walking heavily gave off their position.  
They came upon the millionth door, moving through it with practiced precision. Carefully searching the room, they moved off down another hall, searching for any sign Lorne was still alive.

They were approaching yet another door when McKay grabbed Sheppard's arm, making him stop. Thankfully not talking, Rodney just handed him the LSD he'd been keeping his eyes on. On the other side of the door were two people.

Sheppard nodded, handing the device back. He looked at Ronon and got an understanding nod, he had seen the life signs. Go through, stun first.

Standing ready, Ronon burst through the door, ready for anything. Or so he thought.

/\_/\

Lorne had thought he'd been through torture before, but he was wrong. What he'd been through before was a piece of cake compared to the feelings he now felt.  
His brain felt like it was going to be sucked out through his eyes, his body hoping it'd be over soon.

He was sitting with his back against the wall, Lucas standing over him triumphantly. The Gou'ald device glittered in the firelight, the yellow light that connected the space between it and his skull shining wickedly.  
His body ached from his previous encounters with his captor, but they were minor compared to the feeling his head was producing.

He knew he was going to die, but he wasn't going without a fight. Glaring, Lorne tried to put up barriers between his mind and the device, but it wasn't working. For every brick he put up, two were torn down.

After a few moments, Lorne knew it was his time. He could feel his body slowly beginning to shut down, his brain unable to send signals to keep his muscles, nerves and organs alive any longer.  
His eyes began to close of their own accord, his mind running a mile a minute.

Lorne had never thought he had any regrets, but now he regretted not telling his team what they meant to him. Not telling Sheppard that he was the best CO he'd ever had. Not telling Jennifer that she was like a sister to him, one he'd give his life protecting. He regretted not telling Radek that he was his best friend. He even regretted not telling McKay he'd kill him if he hurt Jennifer, but approved of their relationship.

Lorne felt his heart slowing, his breath coming in slower and shallower. He silently prayed that the Atlantis Expedition would survive, that Colonel Sheppard would live to go on yet another suicide mission.

His thoughts began coming in random patterns, his brain becoming oxygen-deprived even as his lungs tried to bring in enough air, failing miserably.  
Realizing his final fate, Lorne could only hope that someone, somewhere, could manage to kill the spuria that stood over him before he hurt more people.

Just before he knew he was going to die, a single gunshot rang out, and the sharp pain in his head was gone.

/\_/\

Sheppard couldn't believe his eyes. Yes, he knew Lucas was a Gou'ald. No, he didn't realized that meant he had Gou'ald toys. Including a hand device.

Ronon had burst through the door, ready to shoot whatever was there. What they didn't expect to find was Lorne on the floor, eyes closed, face bruised, while a tall, dark, muscular man stood over him with a Gou'ald device connecting his hand to Lorne's head.

The man, who could only be Lucas, barely looked up when they burst through, intent on finishing what he had started. Ronon was going to shoot him, but Sheppard stopped him. He didn't know what an electrical shock would do to the device, or Lorne. Raising his P90, Sheppard took one shot. It went through the side of Lucas' head, and he fell sideways, Lorne following as the device gave one last pull before shutting off.

Sheppard rushed to Lorne's side, shouting at Ronon to make sure Lucas was dead.  
Checking for a pulse, Sheppard was alarmed when he didn't find one at first, but he rechecked and was relieved to find one. It was faint, but it was there. He next checked Lorne's breathing, concerned when he found it extremely shallow, almost none-existent. However, even as he knelt beside his 2IC, it became stronger, almost as if Lorne was coming back to himself. Sheppard wouldn't have doubted it, he'd read some reports on what those devices did to its victim.

"Lorne?" He asked quietly, placing one hand on his XO's shoulder, the other tapping his cheek. "Lorne? Can you hear me?"

A low moan was his only reply, but it was good enough for him. "It's alright Lorne, you're safe now."

"Somebody find something to use as a stretcher and let's get him back home!" Sheppard shouted to the room at large, looking over at Ronon for confirmation that Lucas was dead. His friend nodded and Sheppard vaguely wondered how many times he'd shot the snake. He figured it didn't really matter, as long as it was dead.

As he turned back to Lorne, Sheppard saw movement under closed eyelids, almost as if Lorne were trying to open them.

"Lorne?" He asked again, tapping his cheek gently. "Can you hear me?"

"Colonel." Lorne breathed, his eyes fluttering open. Sheppard moved slightly so that he blocked the sight of Lucas' body from Lorne's searching eyes. "Is he dead?"

"Yes." Sheppard told him, watching as a look of relief washed over his 2IC's face.

"Am I really alive?" Lorne asked. He tried to believe that it was true, but after having so many things done to him, he wanted to be sure.

"Yes." Sheppard said with a smile, "You're alive."

"Good." Lorne muttered, his eyes closing as his body relaxed for the first time in several days.

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

AN: See? I can't kill off Lorne! Bring him to the brink of death and back again, yes. But kill him? Nope, never.  
I hope you enjoyed, now please review! There will probably only be one more chapter, just to get him on the path to recovery. My goal is to have it up by New Years, because that would mean I finished a 13 chapter story in 3 months (record!). Granted, I've never exactly finished a chapter story (no, Saccade doesn't count) so… Anyway, please review!

Oh, spuria is Latin for a curse word. While I do not mind using minor ones in stories, I don't like using the larger ones. So to fix that, I just use other languages :D


	13. Home

AN: YAY! Last chapter! I'd like to thank everyone that's reviewed, alerted, favorited, or any combination of the aforementioned items! Especially the ones that continuously reviewed all throughout!

Special thanks to _Ladygris_, _Crye 4 Me_, _storywriter155_ and _AWanderersHaven_ for reviewing the last two chapters!

And again, thanks to everyone that gave me suggestions :) It helped a lot!

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

The ride back to Atlantis went quickly. Keller did her thing and soon Lorne was off in the infirmary, sleeping.

When he'd been changed into a gown, Keller noticed his bruised torso, compliments of Lucas, and insisted that he get his chest wrapped.  
She'd also insisted he get a full body scan, checking for internal bleeding and any lasting effects of being a host. He'd given in, knowing there was no stopping her when she was in Doctor Mode.

Thankfully the scanning only took a few moments and he was able to get settled in an infirmary bed. It'd taken a while for him to get fully to sleep; images of Lucas kept popping into his head and startling him awake.  
Keller had given him some stuff for the pain, and it helped him fall into a deep sleep. He didn't dream, and for that he was thankful.

/\_/\

Lorne's recovery went more quickly than anyone could've guessed. Keller said it was because he had some of Lucas' DNA in his blood and that was helping, but Lorne thought it was just because he was back in his city with his friends.

Keller released him for light duty a couple days after his return, but refused to allow him to go off-world for anything until his bruises had all healed.

Two weeks after his return, he'd passed a shrink evaluation, Keller had completely released him, and he was back to being the second in command of Atlantis.

/\_/\

"You guys ready?" Lorne asked as he walked into the gate room, fully kitted out for an off-world mission.

A chorus of 'Yes, Sir's came to him from his team. He, Coughlin and Reed were taking one of the newer guys, Chavez, out to train him on off-world travel.

Chuck began dialing the gate and Lorne couldn't help but smile as he watched the chevrons engage.

The ka-whoosh filled the room and Reed and Chavez walked through, deep in conversation, while Coughlin waited with Lorne, noting with some amusement his CO's reaction to the gate.

"Glad you're back, Major."

"Me too, Coughlin. Me too." Lorne replied, looking his friend in the eye as he said it.

They walked to the gate, stepping through in the same moment.

"_Yep._" He thought. "_It's good to be home._"

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

AN: I know it was short, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Thank you to everyone that stayed with me these past few months!


	14. Nightmares and Realisations

AN: I know I said this was done, but one of my friends (one of the weirder ones) said that it couldn't be done until it had a certain small animal in it. This chapter is his fault. Blame him.  
I stuck some Lorne/Keller in here, just cause I've been reading so much of it lately I couldn't help myself. Enjoy!

Thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate it!

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

"Run!" He shouted at his team, breaking left as they broke right, running from the Wraith intent on having them for dinner.

He ran for a few minutes, weaving in and out of the trees. He thought he'd lost the Wraith, when it appeared out of nowhere, headed straight for him.  
He ran again, continuing the way he'd gone before, away from his team.

The sound coming from the Wraith behind him changed, and he looked back to see that it was no longer a Wraith chasing him, it was Lucas. Even while he looked, Lucas changed his shape into something smaller. A pygmy marmoset. It quickly gained on him, despite the size difference.

Glancing back at the small monkey, he yelped in surprise and shock as the small animal's eyes glowed and it gained even more.  
Turning his eyes back to his path, he ducked under a tree branch and stepped over another as he ran on.

A squeal made him turn again, and what he saw made his head spin. Dozens of pygmy marmosets followed him, covering the trees and the forest floor. All of them had glowing eyes and seemed to follow the instructions of a slightly larger one, Lucas.  
He ran on, his head pounding with the beat of his feet against the ground, his legs and back aching. He wanted to stop, but he ran on, the marmosets still following closely. He jumped over another tree branch in his path, and suddenly he was in the desert.

He still ran, the marmosets gaining rapidly as they skimmed easily over the sand.  
He could see the gate in the distance, and his team standing around it. He couldn't seem to get their attention, and he wasn't sure if he could reach them before the marmosets reached him.  
He ran and ran, the gate never seeming to get closer. The gate shimmered as though an illusion, and it disappeared.

"No!" He shouted even as he continued running.

The marmosets were within a few feet now, ready, it seemed, to tear his skin apart. He knew it was illogical, marmosets were herbivores, but this was Pegasus. Man-eating pygmy marmosets wasn't something he should think of as new.  
Still he ran, trying to stay ahead of the rabid things. That's when it hit him. He was being chased by rabid pygmy marmosets. He'd often thought that was funny when he was younger, but the hilarity of the situation was lost on him as he ran for his life.

On and on he ran, barely able to stay ahead of the small animals, his energy level falling rapidly.

His breath came in short gasps, his lungs reaching for the precious air they were being deprived of. His back and legs ached, unused to running at this pace for so long without a break.  
He stumbled, barely managing to keep going. His vision blurred, but he pushed through it.

He ran up, down and around sand dunes, his feet becoming heavier and heavier. His vision blurred again, and this time he couldn't push past it. He fell, his body hitting the ground and rolling before coming to a complete stop. He lay on his front, his arms splayed out in odd directions.  
His vision cleared for a moment and he could see the marmosets surrounding him. His eyes clouded over even as his lungs gathered in the air they'd been longing for.

He knew he was dead when he felt the first nail plunge into his skin, but he wasn't really thinking of that. The pain just magnified his headache, and black spots covered over his sight. He took a deep breath, trying to work through the pain, but unable to.  
The black spots increased in size, and he welcomed the blackness, accepting his fate…

… Lorne sat up in bed with a gasp, thinking the lights bright as he looked around quickly for the pygmy marmosets.

"Nightmare." He muttered, laying back in the bed as the lights dimmed.

This was new for him; he hadn't had a nightmare in months. He'd had a couple after his capture by Lucas, but after he got back in the swing of things, they went away.  
Now they were back, this time in full force. There was no worse fate then being eaten alive by rabid pygmy marmosets of strife. Not even the Wraith could compare.

He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling the nightmare had something to do with Jennifer's recent off-world adventure. She'd been captured, again, and it'd taken his and Sheppard's teams to rescue her. He hadn't realized he could worry that much about someone. He'd tried to keep his feelings to himself, but a comment she'd made made him wonder if perhaps she felt the same.

In any case, he was never going to get back to sleep after that, so he quickly dressed and headed down to the infirmary. He didn't feel like sparring after that dream, or he'd see if Ronon was awake. He had a hunch he'd find the Doc working, even if it was 5 am.

Sure enough, there she was. But she wasn't working, she was sleeping. She sat in her chair, using her arm as a pillow where it lay on her desk.

"Major." A quiet voice caught his attention.

Marie, one of the nurses that'd been in Atlantis the longest, approached from the back room.

"Hey." He said, smiling. He'd always liked Marie, not in the romantic sense, but in the 'she's my little sister' sense. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Evan?"

"A few more times yet." She smiled back, using his own words against him. He'd said the very same thing to Colonel Sheppard after he'd asked how many times he had to tell Evan to call him John.

Lorne just smiled, turning his attention back to the sleeping doctor.

"Will you please get her out of here?" Marie asked, seeing where his attention was. "She's been here all night after working all day yesterday."

"Yeah." He said, inwardly grinning at the thought of carrying Jennifer through the halls of Atlantis to her quarters. "I can do that."

He picked her up carefully, making sure her head rested on his chest. She didn't even stir, so he knew exactly how tired she was.

He loved the way her body fit perfectly with his. When he'd been captured by Lucas, he'd thought of Jennifer as his little sister. But lately she'd become something more. She flirted more, hung out more, had become something more than a sister, but not quite a girlfriend.

Carrying her through the halls, Evan got a few looks from the few personnel that were up and about, but he ignored them.

Reaching her quarters, he used his security override to open the door. He walked in, lowering the lights and noting with some amusement the way her quarters weren't exactly clean. When it came to her infirmary, it was spick and span, but apparently she hadn't taken much time for herself lately. Evan planned to do something about that. He wasn't sure what, but something.

He laid her on her bed, sliding off her shoes and jacket before pulling the covers up over her. She slept on, oblivious to the man watching her.

She was cute when she slept, he noted. He hadn't wanted to admit he had feelings for her, but he knew the dangers of Pegasus, and if he didn't say something, one of them could be gone the next day.

She was sleeping too deeply for him to do anything less than blowing up her room to wake her, so he leaned down, brushing his lips lightly across her cheek. The tingle from touching her skin stayed with him.

"I love you." He whispered, getting up and leaving.

He didn't know how this would turn out, but he knew he wanted to explore it. The first step was admitting, while she was awake, that he loved her. He'd faced down Wraith, Genii and balrog-type creatures, and won every time. Admitting that he loved her, to her face, however, was scary. But he wasn't going to let one of them die before she knew.

/\_/\_/\_/\_/\

AN: So _this_ is the last chapter. Woooooo! Hope you enjoyed!  
And yes, rabid pygmy marmosets are _very_ scary creatures.


End file.
